Suddenly death – anger and aggression – drug turned him into a nightmare – Prozac

Suddenly death – anger and aggression – drug turned him into a nightmare – Prozac

Paragraphs 6 through 10 read: “Ms Bradshaw said that two weeks before Toran died, he was prescribed the anti-depressant drug Prozac by a case worker from the Marinoto Clinic, Waitemata District Health Board’s mental health unit for adolescents.”

“This was despite his having had a “hideous” reaction to the drug in the past, she said.”

“‘Suddenly death was what he thought about all the time. He developed the most severe anger and aggression. He punched holes in walls, he picked fights with people. The drug turned him into a nightmare.'”

“During the 15-minute consultation with the ‘unqualified’ psychiatrist in a public cafe, Toran was told he could stop taking the drug over the weekend and drink up to six stubbies of beer a night.”

MUCH LOVED: Toran Henry’s mother, Maria Bradshaw, left, and his former girlfriend Isabella Menzies, march in Auckland to raise awareness of teen suicide.

Standing on the steps of Auckland’s Aotea Square, a grieving Maria Bradshaw delivered a birthday present to her dead son – a public vow to change the mental health system that she says failed him.

“This child was my life and I will stop at nothing to get justice for him,” she told a crowd of hundreds. “You picked the wrong mother to fight with.”

Toran Henry, 17, was found dead on March 20, the day after he was beaten up in a fight filmed by other students on their mobile phones.

Yesterday – on the day Toran would have celebrated his 18th birthday – Ms Bradshaw and hundreds of teenagers, their parents and other supporters marched up Queen St, calling for changes in the way the mental health system handled at-risk teens.

Ms Bradshaw said that two weeks before Toran died, he was prescribed the anti-depressant drug Prozac by a case worker from the Marinoto Clinic, Waitemata District Health Board’s mental health unit for adolescents.

This was despite his having had a “hideous” reaction to the drug in the past, she said.

“Suddenly death was what he thought about all the time. He developed the most severe anger and aggression. He viagrabuynow.com punched holes in walls, he picked fights with people. The drug turned him into a nightmare.”

During the 15-minute consultation with the “unqualified” psychiatrist in a public cafe, Toran was told he could stop taking the drug over the weekend and drink up to six stubbies of beer a night.

Toran followed his instructions to the letter, Ms Bradshaw said.

“[It] was the most irresponsible, negligent, incompetent action that could be taken.”

Ms Bradshaw said Toran’s dream was to get a business degree and start his own company. But first he needed to complete a “a handful” of NCEA credits.

Mental Health commissioner Ray Watson said he was confident a Waitemata District Health Board review into its handling of Toran’s case would be comprehensive and robust.

He understood the review team included an external expert in child psychology.

Statistics showed about 500 people a year committed suicide, many of them young people, and several thousand others were admitted to hospital for self-harm.